Kirk: 'I command the war room in the Pentagon'

[ccharles000]

Richard Blumenthal's claim to have served in Vietnam has put a spotlight on politicians' discussions of their military service, and I'm pointed to a pretty dramatic boast from Rep. Mark Kirk, the U.S. Naval Reserve officer running for Senate in Illinois.

“In my role in the military, I command the war room in the Pentagon," Kirk told a gathering of experts on U.S.-Chinese relations last May (at 4:18 in the video above).

This struck military observers as, literally speaking, implausible: The Pentagon's National Military Command Center is typically run in eight-hour shifts headed by an officer of the rank of a one-star general, who would outrank Kirk, an intelligence officer in the Navy, both a retired flag officer and current Pentagon official said.

But as it turns out that while Kirk's comment may have a tinge of braggadocio, his reserve role does put him in charge of an important element of the NMCC. He has a remarkable job for a reserve officer, spending his weekends in a front-line post at the NMCC, where he serves as the Deputy Director of Intelligence, his campaign said.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0510/Kirk_I_command_the_war_room_in_the_Pentagon.html?showall

[neverforget]

1. Okay Alexander Haig. Whatever you say....

:eyes:

[rug]

2. Oh, really?